Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 207: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will provide details on the proposed Thornton Hall project; the timeline for development; the aspect of development which will receive priority; the number of prisoners phase one will hold; the estimated cost of the development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26740/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Government recently reconfirmed its commitment to developing a new prison campus at Thornton Hall, Co. Dublin. The revised plans for Thornton Hall prison aim to protect the taxpayers' interests while, at the same time, providing modern, regime focused and operationally efficient accommodation to replace the Mountjoy prison complex in the shortest possible timeframe.

It is intended that the new prison will be built on a phased basis. Phase one involves the provision of essential preliminary work required to facilitate the development such as the construction of a dedicated access route, services and perimeter wall. The preliminary works in phase one of the project will be procured on the basis of separate contracts to the main prison development. Work is expected to start on this phase towards the end of this year or early next year. This phase of the project does not include the provision of prison places.

It is expected that an EU wide tender competition for the main prison buildings will be launched early next year. The objective is to complete the procurement process for the main prison buildings while the construction of phase one is underway thus enabling construction of the main prison buildings to commence immediately after contract award.

The construction of the main prison buildings should take no more than three years from the date of the signing of a contract. The new prison at Thornton will have a capacity of 1,400 in single occupancy cells but with operational flexibility to accommodate up to 2,080 prisoners, thus future proofing the development.

Estimates as to the costs involved are commercially sensitive and releasing information as to estimated costs would prejudice the procurement process.

It should be noted that, in addition to the 1,400 new prison spaces provided since 1997, a new block in Castlerea Prison, which accommodates over 100 prisoners, has recently opened. Moreover, an additional 300 new prison spaces are also due to come on stream very shortly: a new block in Portlaoise Prison which will accommodate approximately 150 prisoners is due to open by the end of July and a new block in Wheatfield Prison which will accommodate 150 prisoners is due to open in September.